Platforms

Grand Theft Auto IV will appear on both PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360, released simultaneously. The game may also be released for the PC, as all the previous Grand Theft Auto games have been. A Nintendo Wii version is highly improbable due to the difference in power between the console and the PS3 and Xbox 360.

The protagonist of Grand Theft Auto IV is a man called Niko Bellic, believed to be from eastern Europe. During the trailer, released on March 29 2007, he said "Life is complicated. I've killed people, smuggled people, sold people. Perhaps here, things will be different..."

Setting

Grand Theft Auto IV will be set in |Liberty City, which will be a different rendition of the city than seen in either Grand Theft Auto or the Grand Theft Auto III era. Liberty City has been confirmed as the only city in the game. The city is based around New York City, with many landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty being seen during the first trailer. However, evidence shows that the city will be called Liberty City.

Liberty Tree, the Liberty City based newspaper from the GTA III era returns.

An I Love Liberty City sign can be seen during the trailer, close to the Liberty Tree sign.

The year the game is set in has yet to be confirmed. However the Hearst Tower, or the GTA IV rendition, is visible in the trailer. The building was finished in early 2006, hinting that the game maybe set in 2006.

Episodic Content

Episodic content has been confirmed for the Xbox 360 version. This was confirmed at the 2006 E³ during the Microsoft press conference. Peter Moore, head of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business division, made the announcement that two downloadable packs of extra content would become available via Xbox Live. The episodic content was described by Moore as being 'epic', with Take-Two Interactive announcing that the content will become available during 2008. The actual date has yet to be confirmed.

Episodic content may become available for the PlayStation 3 version, although nothing has been confirmed. There are rumors that the content will be different to that confirmed for the Xbox 360.

The content will feature "hours of entirely new gameplay", not just cars and new characters. There has been no information on the price of the content, and the exclusivity of the content is vague in detail.

Confirmed

Grand Theft Auto IV will have a new game engine. The engineers called titled it RAGE. Unlike the previous games, the animation will use live animations instead of pre-written ones.

Air units appear on some buildings, attached on windows, and have gases coming out from them.

Vice City exists in the GTA 4 era, as a sign can be seen reading "Visit Vice City - $300. However, there is no information on whether Vice City will be explorable.

A rollercoaster called 'Screamer' and a ferris wheel appear in the game.

Roads are not flat, and have bumps in them. A construction plate also appears during the trailer, which may suggest that road works occur in the game.

Pedestrians can alter their rear view mirror whilst driving.

Car rims spin, unlike in previous Grand Theft Auto games.

Litter will appear on the street.

Pedestrians will sit on the steps to housing.

The Liberty Ferry Terminal will appear in the game, suggesting some sort of ferry system similar to GTA: Liberty City Stories.

The Statue of Liberty will appear in the game, along with a church similar to that in Grand Theft Auto III.

Seagulls and pigeons appear in the game.

Newspaper stands are in the game and some pedestrians have been spotted reading newspapers.

A police officer can be seen drinking whilst on the job, suggesting that pedestrians may also eat/drink during the game.

Hot dog stands are present.

Disabled ramps can also be seen on a police building.

Bus stops appear.

Some pedestrians walk through parts of buildings, including the disabled ramp at a police building.

Some pedestrians carry groceries, bags, books, backpacks and newspaper. These items can be dropped and left by pedestrians. One pedestrian has been seen to drop a book and continue walking. Meanwhile dock workers have been seen to carry planks of wood and possibly tools.

Similar looking character models appear wearing different clothing.

Some pedestrians will fight on the street.

Children and animals will not be in the game, except for K9 police dogs and birds. Rockstar Games, when asked by Jordan Liles, responded: "We don't particularly like the idea of children or small fuzzy animals in our games" [2]

Media

Vehicles

Train - Elevated train with platforms (similar to Portland El), visible at the start of the trailer.

Monorail - Can be seen alongside a bridge.

When Game Informer were given a preview of the game there were no planes or helicopters viewable in the sky. Aeroplanes are unlikely to be included in the game, but other forms of aircraft should not be ruled out.